Tommy O’Tom in a Tub O’Trouble – JTK Belle & Mike Motz (book review)

As a new feature on the Full Media blog, we will be reviewing the latest children’s picture books, mostly from the indie community. Why are we doing this? Well, first of all, children’s picture books are a passion of ours – it’s what we specialise in writing and publishing, after all. But we also want to support other indie children’s book authors and illustrators and prove that there is a wealth of quality kids’ books out there that don’t necessarily top the Amazon charts or reach supermarket shelves.

So, without further ado, here is our first children’s picture book for review: Tommy O’Tom in a Tub O’Trouble by JTK Belle.

Aimed at children aged 2–5, Tommy O’Tom in a Tub O’Trouble is an amusing and lively picture book about a little boy called Tommy O’Tom (the name itself raises a smile), whose bath time is interrupted by a series of zoo animals. On each page, new animals enter the bathroom and then, much to Tommy’s dismay, the bathtub itself. First a giraffe and a hippo join him, followed by a flamingo, zebra and even an elephant!

Poor Tommy – he was quite happy at the start with just his rubber duck for company, but by the end of the story all hell has broken loose. The animals are very mischievous and actually rather rude at times, complaining to Tommy that the water’s too cold and spraying the shower all over the walls. Some parents will feel that the animals should have been punished for their bad behaviour at the end of the book, rather than fleeing the scene and leaving Tommy to take the blame, but I feel that there’s a place for kids’ books that just play for laughs.

The illustrations are bold and bright with bundles of energy. The text is laid out nicely and its rhyming style is appealing, although the rhythm isn’t consistent at all, which will make it a little harder for parents to read aloud. It’s still a lot of fun, though, and kids aged 2–5 will love seeing the cheeky creatures splashing around.

Nick Jones is an award-winning children’s author published by Full Media Ltd. His debut book Sarah’s Shadow was published in December 2017 and the Kindle version soon became a bestseller in one of Amazon’s categories. It also won a Purple Dragonfly Award and a Book Excellence Award in 2018.